Life Goes On
by JA Baker
Summary: Follow on from Small Town Life: Clark is called in when the Atlantis expedition discovers a Kryptonian outpost in Pegasus, but he may not like what he finds...
1. Uncovering The Past

_Warning: Fem-Slash (established Sam/Chloe relationship), so if you don't like that sort of story, stop reading now. Spoilers for start seasons 5 of Smallville (but AU from there on) and 2 of Stargate: Atlantis._

**Life Goes On  
****Part 1: Uncovering The Past**

"So, Colonel, I'm sorry; Doctor Carter," Lex smiled across the table, "how does Smallville compare to Colorado Springs?"

"I like it just fine, Mr Luthor." Sam smiled back as she moved her queen across the chess board set up between them, ignoring the jib aimed at distracting her, "How does it compare to Metropolis? Or New York? Or Milan? Or any of the other places you used to hang out?"

"_Touché!_" Lex counterd with his Rook, "Check."

"Checkmate." Sam grinned as she moved her one remaining knight into position, "Same time tomorrow?"

"As much fun as finding smeone in Smallville, other than my father, who can give me a good game is, I have a meeting in Metropolis tomorrow." Lex sighed, "It must be nice to be semi-retired at your age."

"It has its moments..." Sam was cut off by the sound of her cell-phone. She pulled it from her purse and looked at the caller ID, "Of course, I am only 'semi-retired'. I've got to take this." She stood and started to make her way back up the stairs leading to the apartment she shared with Chloe, "Carter here."

"_Sam?_" Daniel's voice came over the link, "_Sorry; the encryption makes you a little hard to hear._"

"You're coming across fine." Sam put her key in the front door and pushed it open, "I take it this isn't a social call?"

"_We just got a report from Dr Weir: Sheppard's team found something, something big._"

"What?"

"_I can't say over the phone. Jack has an Air Force jet waiting for you at Metropolis-AFB: we need you here ASAP._"

"On my own or...?"

"_No: bring Clark. It involves him too._"

"Ok, but I'm going to have to tell Chloe why I'm going to be out of town..."

"_Jack says to bring her too._"

"What? I didn't think she was cleared?"

"_She is as of an hour ago. Look, I can't say any more over the phone, but trust me; it's important._"

"Ok, let me put a bag together for Chloe and me; phone Clark and tell him to do the same, and we'll be on our way."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Chloe was walking across the university quad when she saw Sam's car pull up. Her partner got out, a worried expression on her face as she walked over.

"You need to tell someone that you can't make you classes for a day or two." Sam looked apologetic, "Something's come up, and we need to catch a plane to Colorado."

"What could have come up that requires us to go there?" Chloe asked as they started to walk back towards the car, "And I can't just drop my classes like that..."

"All I know is that you've suddenly been given full clearance." Sam looked round, trying to see if anyone was watching them, "Daniel said that Jack insisted on it."

"Is this to do with Clark?"

"Yes; he's going to meet us at the airbase."

"That sounds like it might be worth cutting a few classes for." Chloe grinned, "And if not, I at least get a few days away with you."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The flight from Metropolis to Colorado Springs only took a few hours, and Sam spent most of the time passing on what little information she had, and reassuring Chloe and Clark that this wasn't some government conspiracy to get him into a lab.

Daniel met them at the other end and they made the short drive the Cheyenne Mountain in silence, Chloe wishing she'd been allowed to bring a camera. She could see a Pulitzer Prize in her future, if she could ever convince the Air Force and Clark to let her write it all up. Her inner-reporter was straining at the leash, demanding answers.

But she kept it in check as they made their way down to the briefing room, her eyes taking everything in. She felt a hint of jealousy every time a solider or scientist stopped to talk to Sam, slowing their progress. Chloe knew it was stupid: Sam had decided to leave this behind to be with her. But there were still some things that they had never spoken about.

Chloe felt slightly guilty, not only for feeling jealous, but for being responsible for Sam turning her back on her old life.

Clark saw the look in his best friend's eye and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there for her. It had taken him a while to accept Chloe's feelings for Sam, but he had never seen his friend so happy. He loved her like a sister, and wad glad that she was finally happy. But he had to admit to himself that it did hurt his pride that the woman who had been in love with him for so long had not looked back since falling in love with another woman.

The four of them filed into the conference room, Sam walking over to look out of the window facing the gate room: although her work had brought her back to the SGC since she'd left the military, she'd never let herself look at the Stargate. It symbolised everything that she had left behind, and it sometime hurt too much to even think about it. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Chloe until the young woman had wrapped her arms around her waist and rested her chin on Sam's shoulder.

"So that's a Stargate, huh?" Chloe smiled, "Look's kind of small: I'd always imagined it being somehow, bigger, more impressive. It looks like a prop from that cable show _Wormhole-Xtreme!_"

"That's a long story..." Jack stepped through the door linking the conference room with his office, "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I've already received a thinly veiled threat from Senator Kent as to what will happen to me if I do anything to hurt her son..."

"Sorry." Clark couldn't help but grin, "She's just a little over protective."

"That would be putting it mildly. Please, be seated." Jack motioned to the chairs arranged around the table.

Sam took the middle seat, Chloe taking the one separating her girlfriend from her former CO, somehow subconscious marking out her terotory. Clark chose to sit the other side of Sam, distancing himself from the authority structure that Jack's uniform represented.

"Ok then." Daniel opened a file that was resting on the table and started to hand out photocopied sheets of paper, "We received these in a transmission from one of our off-world expeditions. It took a while to get round to them, but we started to notice something familiar about some of the glyphs..."

"It's Kryptonian!" Chloe looked up, "I know some of these. This one here," She held up one page, "that's the Kryptonian word for centre."

"Control centre." Clark looked at the different pages, "Accommodation. Power distribution. Armoury..." He looked up, "There are directions: signs on walls."

"That what we thought." Daniel handed over one last photo, "They were found inside this."

It didn't seem that large; probably half the height of the Fortes of Solitude, but scale was hard to judge with no reference point. But the angular crystalline structure was unmistakably Kryptonian in origin. Many of the towers were broken, others missing entirely: it was clear that the structure had been attacked from the outside.

"We think it was an outpost or perhaps a colony." Jack explained, "Our people report that the controls are unresponsive, but that may be because our team is human." He leaned over the table to get a better look at Clarke, "We'd like you to go see if there's anything there salvageable."

**To Be Continued...**

_If you didn't like it, then so be it: it was my story to write and time to waste, not yours._


	2. Where no reporter has gone before

_Thanks to everyone whose reviews so far: it's nice to know I'm doing something right. _

**Life Goes On  
****Part 2: Where no reporter has gone before... **

Chloe was a little surprised that the Air Force had given them a room with a double bed, but Sam pointed out that the rules only applied to enlisted personnel: as they were civilian guest, they were free to do what they wanted. Chloe had still been a little apprehensive, not trusting the Air Force not to have hidden cameras and microphones hidden about the room, but Sam had been soon made her forget.

The meeting the night before had gone on four hours and hours, with Clark asking seemingly endless questions about just what the SGC had found. Jack had refused to answer most of them until Clark would agree to go to the planet and see if he could activate any of the Kryptonian technology there, and Clark refused to go until they agreed that Chloe and Sam would go with him.

Chloe wasn't sure why he wanted her to go with him, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. While she knew that it might be years before she'd be able to tell anyone about it, being the only reporter to ever actually go through the Stargate would sure as hell give her an advantage when it all went public.

"It's a wonder these guys can get by without me." Sam appeared in the doorway, having spent the last several hours in her old lab, helping out with some research projects, "But the good news is that Jack managed to get the Joint Chiefs to agree to Clark's terms: you get to go."

"I'm going to another planet?" Chloe gasped, "Cool!"

"Actually, we'll be going a lot further than that." Sam smiled, "Ever hear the legend of Atlantis?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The gate room was a hive of activity: due to the limited number of times they could open a wormhole to Atlantis long enough for people to go through, it had been decided that they'd take as much equipment as they could carry. Trolleys laden with equipment staked high above Chloe's head dominated the floor at the bottom of the embarkation ramp, while soldiers and scientist slated for the next _Daedalus_ mission hurried about to get ready. Someone had managed to find Atlantis Experdition civilian uniforms for Chloe and Clark, and had hand-written their names on the front. The bags they'd brought from Smallville had been repacked into rucksacks that they carried on their back.

"You guys ready?" Sam asked as she entered though the blast doors.

"Whoa!" Chloe blinked: her partner was dressed in crisp, formfitting BDU's and carried a P-90 attached to her webbing. Having never seen Sam in uniform outside of old photos and home movies, Chloe was shocked at how at ease she looked.

Not to mention sexy.

"Chloe?" Clark snapped his fingers, bringing his best friend back down to Earth, "You ready?"

"Yeah." Chloe nodded, still admiring the view, "More than ready!"

"Later; I promise." Sam smiled, "You don't want to miss this..."

The inner track of the Stargate started to spin round, stopping suddenly as one of the chevrons snapped open.

"_Chevron 1 encoded._" Walter announced over the PA just before it snapped back down, "_Chevron 1 is locked in place!_"

The gate started to vibrate as the other symbols were entered into the system, until finally only the last one remained. Chloe looked at Sam out of the corner of her eye, and saw that the other woman was holding her breath as the Stargate started to slow down. The sound of the final chevron flicking open was almost lost in the background, but the moment in snapped closed, the wormhole opened, sending what looked like a horizontal fountain flying towards the assembled team.

Chloe flinched backwards, surprised at how close it came, despite the safety marking on the floor that told her she was perfectly safe.

The first members of the team started up the ramp the moment the wormhole stabilised, carrying as much equipment as they could handle. Clark had been half-tempted to grab a trolley with each hand, but not everyone at the SGC knew the truth about him, and he didn't want to give anything away if he could avoid it. Grinning, Sam grabbed Chloe's hand as they started to make their way up the ramp at a brisk walk. Chloe hesitated for a moment, and then stepped through the event horizon.

There was a brief flash of light, and then it seemed like she could see the stars flying past, even though she knew it was impossible. Space and time opened up before her, putting the furthest reaches of the universe within her grasp...

And then through were through, and Chloe found herself in a large, sun-lit room surrounded by a balcony. She could hear the sea out of the large window directly in front of them, but her gaze was instinctively dawn to the strange architecture: Sam had done her best to explain the history of Atlantis, but nothing compared to actually being there.

"Doctor Carter, I presume?" A ruggedly hansom man in his early to mid thirties made his way down the main staircase towards them, "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise." Sam smiled, shaking his hand "Chloe, Clark, I'd like you to meet Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, head of the Atlantis Expeditions military contingent. Col. Sheppard, this is Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan; the closest thing we have to experts on what you found."

"THE Chloe Sullivan?" Sheppard asked, looking the young woman up and down, "The young lady who broke McKay's heart by stealing you away?"

"Excuse me?" Chloe looked at her girlfriend, more than a little confused.

"Dr Rodney McKay: one of the Expeditions chief scientist, and an old verbal sparing partner." Sam reassured Chloe, "His bark's worse than his bite: he's a big softy at heart."

"That's a novel way to describe Rodney." A tall, older woman appeared at the top of the steps and made her way down, "Dr Elizabeth Weir; Atlantis Expedition leader." She nodded at Sam, "It's good to see you again, Sam."

"Likewise." Sam nodded friendlily, "It's nice to finally get a chance to see Atlantis first hand."

"We're glad to have you, even if it is only for a while." Weir crossed her arms over her chest, "But General O'Neill's message didn't say why you and your companions were sent."

"That's clasified," Sam looked round, "Is there somewhere we can talk in private?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Well, it's true: he isn't human." Dr. Beckett looked up from his clipboard, "Oh, on the outside there are almost no decernable diferances, but our scanns showed some amazing diferances in his genetic structure and the inner workings of some of his organs..."

"Carson." Weir interupted the medic before he could go any further, "I want all you finding encripted and sealed: as facinating as Mr Kent's bilogy may be, he is not a science experiment."

"Understood." The scottsman nodded, a little dejected, "Is there anything else?"

"No; that will be all." Weir waited untill he was seated again before looking round the table: Sheppard, McKay and Beckett sat on one side, while Sam, Chloe and Clark sat on the other. The revilation that an alien had been living on Earth for almost two decades without anyone finding out had shocked her, but she understood why it had been kept secret.

"So." She looked at everyone, her hands open, "Do we have a plan?"

"I think the best idea would be to go back there and see if Clark can activate the, what ever it is." Sheppard answered in his normal, laid-back tone of voice, "Maybe you need the Kryptonian equivalent of the ATA gene to get it to work.2

"If that's ok by you?" Weir looked Clarke, Sam and Chloe, who all nodded their consent, "Ok; the mission is a go first thing tomorrow. Col. Sheppard; if you would as good as to escort our guests to their quarters."

"No problem." Sheppard stood, "If you'll all follow me." They made their way out of the conference room and along the labyrinth of corridors and chambers to the accommodation block, "I'll try and arrange a full tour for you this afternoon, but you probably want to get freshened up for something."

"Or something..." Chloe smiled as she leaned over to kiss Sam full on the lips. There was a slight croaking sound from McKay, who turned round and walked off in the direction of the showers, a far-away look in his face.

"You know, it's a pity we can't convince you to join the Expedition full-time." Beckett sighed, "That the first time I've ever seen Rodney lost forwords..."

**To Be Continued... **

_If you didn't like it, then so be it: it was my story to write and time to waste, not yours. _

_Bobboky: you have a very strange mind, but you've given me an idea.  
Not exactly what you suggested, but an idea none the less..._


	3. What dreams may come

_Thanks to everyone whose reviews so far: it's nice to know I'm doing something right._

**Life Goes On  
****Part 3: What dreams may come**

Sam stood on the balcony attached to their room, looking out across the city and the sea beyond. It was getting late, with the still un-named star sinking towards the horizon of the likewise un-named planet that was home to Atlantis. A soft breeze blew across from one side, leaden with the fresh sent of the open ocean. The room itself was more than enough for just the two of them, but Sam would have happily live in a bunkroom if she could keep the view.

"Hey beautiful." Chloe appeared in the doorway, her robe only just covering her, "What you thinking about?"

"Whether or not they'll let me move out here permanently one day." Sam admitted, "I could be very happy here."

"Hell of a long commute to work." Chloe smiled as she wrapped her arms around her lover, "Unless I can convince them to move the SGC to Metropolis, or set up a newspaper here..."

"I'm talking about..." Sam felt the words almost choke her, "After you're gone."

"Gone?" Chloe blinked, "I'm not planning on going anywhere?"

"Chloe, I'm almost exactly twice your age: in ten years time, I'll be almost 50, when you'll be in the prime of your life." Sam did her best to hold back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her, "In twenty, you'll be middle-aged while I'm getting ready to collect my social security..."

"Hey!" Chloe turned Sam round so they were facing each other, "I'm not going anywhere. I knew full well going into this relationship that you are older than me: it didn't bother me then, and it doesn't bother me now. Hell, I'd never even LOOKED at another woman sexually until I met you. That the effect you have on me!"

"But it's going to become more of an issue..." Sam almost sobbed.

"You don't think that I'm a little scared about the age thing at times?" Chloe asked, drying the tears from her partner's eyes, "You don't think that I sometimes wound 'why is this intelligent, articulate and sexy woman interested in me?' You don't think that I'm worried that someday you'll meet someone who's closer to your level of maturity? Who knows about physics and computers and other things I wouldn't know how to even begin to talk about? That's what terrifies me, what keeps me awake at nights when you're sleeping next to me."

"You never said." Sam smiled weakly.

"I was scared that if I mentioned it, you'd see the folly in being with me and leave, and I didn't want to risk that." Chloe admitted, "Now, are we going to get dressed and go join the others for dinner?"

"In a minute." Sam pulled the young woman inter her arms, holding her close, "I just want to enjoy the moment."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I'm telling you: the technology is crystalline-based!" McKay was standing, his hands resting on the table, "How can you even doubt it?"

"Just because the technology developed by the Ancients and the Asgard is based on the manipulation of specially grown crystals, you automatically assume that everyone else is the same!" Dr Zelenka countered, "We have no evidence that the people who built the outpost used crystals for anything other than construction. And until we are able to get a team past the wreckage that stopped you last time and find out for sure, I think we should keep an open mind."

"An open mind?" McKay laughed, "You just need to...I mean you should..." The scientist stopped dead in his tracks: all of his planned arguments would require him to tell his colleague that Clark was Kyrptonian, and that was still highly classified.

McKay wasn't sure why the fact that an alien was living on Earth was such a big secret: he'd met Cassandra Fraiser and a few others who had been granted sanctuary by the SGC. Two of his team-mates, Teyla and Ronon were from other planets. True, they were biologically human, but if Beckett was right, Clark was a close enough genetic match to allow Human/Kyrptonian interbreeding.

But Dr Weir had been adamant: no one was to say a word about Clark's true nature. If it turned out that you did need Kyrptonian DNA to work any of their technology, then only those who truly needed to know would be told. The cover story for everyone else would be that he possessed a special for of the ATA gene.

Relaxing, McKay went back to the temporarily abandoned chess game.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So we actually get to fly in an honest-to-go spaceship?" Chloe had a wicked grin plastered across her face, "Now where did I put my camera..."

"Don't even joke about it." Sam ruffled her girlfriend's hair, "One day, when the SGC is made public knowledge, you can write you Pulitzer Prize wining story, but just not yet."

"I hate you." Chloe pouted, "It's important you know that."

"We'll see how you feel tonight..." Sam smirked as she headed towards the Puddle Jumper that Sheppard and his team were still prepping. They had all met at dinner the night before, and they seemed nice enough. But Chloe still felt a little ill at ease around Ronan, but she was confidant that Clark could handle the big, gruff Satedan if needed.

Having a best friend with superpowers had its perks, and Atlantis' yellow sun kept the young Kyrptonian fully charged.

"Ok, time to hit the road." Sheppard hefted his pack over one shoulder and walked up the ramp the led into the rear of the Puddle Jumper. He took the pilot's seat next to Ronan, who just automatically assumed that he was superior to everyone else and thus had the right to sit there. McKay, in a surprising display of humility, gave up his seat to Chloe, while Teyla did the same for Clark.

"I received that video-message you sent me last month." Sam sat down on the reach bench next to McKay, "I don't know just what happened to you, but it must have been major for you to admit that I'm smarter than you..."

"I never said that you were smarter than me!" the Canadian shot back defensively, "I said that you were, in some, narrow and well defined areas, wiser than I am."

"I've missed these little sparing sessions." Sam acknowledged, "You know, you can write to me if you want: you do have the occasional spark of geniuses."

"That's very big of you to say so, Samantha." McKay nodded, secretly happy that he had finally won her professional approval, "You're not that bad yourself."

"I'm also impressed at how well you've handled being around Chloe and Me." Sam looked at her girlfriend, "I know a lot of people, well, mainly Jack and Pete, who had a lot of trouble dealing when I first came out. I remember the look on Pete's face when he ran into the two of us in Colorado Springs just before I moved to Smallville: I've never seen a man so afraid for his masculinity. You, on the other hand, seem to have taken the fact that I live with a young and beautiful woman in your stride."

There was a slight squeak from McKay who looked like he was about to have a stroke.

"Is this how you normally interact with Dr McKay?" Teyla asked from her seat on the other side of the Puddle Jumper as it descended into the gate-room.

"Let's just say it's the continuation of an old game." Sam winked, "I'll explain it later."

**To Be Continued...**

_If you didn't like it, then so be it: it was my story to write and time to waste, not yours._


	4. Dead and Buried

_Thanks to everyone whose reviews so far: it's nice to know I'm doing something right._

**Life Goes On  
****Part 4: Dead and buried **

Chloe almost fainted as the Puddle Jumper started to pass through the Stargate. She'd expected the ship to fly through the wormhole like a regular jet, so the sight of the event horizon sweeping towards her, enveloping Sheppard and Ronan, had turned her blood to ice-water. She closed her eyes tightly, gripping her seat' armrests so tightly that her knuckles went white.

There was the same feeling of her body being ripped apart atom by atom, and them they were inside the wormhole, and the space-time continuum lay open before them. McKay and Sam had both explained that the transit time, even between Atlantis and the SGC, was almost negligible. But the human mind still interpreted the transition as a journey.

Something scientists would argue about for years to come.

The other Stargate was in orbit of an Earth-like world with no evidence of intelligent life other than the Kryptonian structure in the desert near its equator. Sheppard expertly fly the small craft through the upper atmosphere and brought it in low over the barren wasteland, on a direct course for the structure.

Clark sat transfixed by the view as the Puddle Jumper landed a short distance to what looked like an almost perfect replica of the Fortress of Solitude back on Earth, but he knew that this was misleading: there were no signs or directions inside the Fortress.

"Ok, let's get going." Slipping on a pair of sunglasses, Sheppard opened the rear hatch. Heat poured into the Puddle Jumper with a near physical force. It was almost noon, local time, and the planets sun was high in the sky, beating down relentlessly. Everyone except Clark and Ronon showed signs of being effected: Clark was not naturally bothered by extremes of hot and cold, while Ronon simply refused to let any such weakness show in front of strangers.

P90 held at the ready, Sheppard led the way to the same opening that they had found when they first detected the structure from orbit. The crystalline walls were worn into irregular shapes by the relentless sandblasting effect of the desert wind. The opening offered welcome shade as they made their way along a short passage. Clark looked at the walls, recognising the same signs as he had seen on the photos back on Earth.

"And this is the problem." Sheppard came to an abrupt stop in front of a section of wall that had collapsed, totally blocking the way forward, "We can't get round it, and there are no other ways into the structure."

"Let me have a look." Clark stepped forward, examining the blockage first with his normal eyesight, then with his X-ray vision. It didn't look too big, maybe a foot thick, buy it must have weight several tons. Certainly too much for any equipment the Atlantis expedition would have been able to fit into the back of a Puddle Jumper. Bending his knees, Clark took a firm grip on the debris and started to lift. It groaned and complained, but he was able to lift it back up into position. Holding it in place, he used his heat-vision to re-seal the joint, stopping it from collapsing back down again.

"Now that was something you don't see everyday." Sheppard looked genuinely impressed, "Care to explain just how you did that?"

"He eats a lot of spinach." Sam smiled, "Long story, most of which is classified way above even your clearance."

"Well, I don't like it, but ok." Sheppard nodded, knowing better than to press the issue. He looked at the corridor beyond for the first time, and saw that it branched off in two directions. "Ok, two teams. McKay, Teyla; you go with Dr Carter and Chloe along the left hand passage. Ronon, Clark and I will take the right hand passage. We find anything of interest; we radio it in and wait for everyone else to arrive. Are we clear?"

The others nodded their agreement, and the two groups went their separate ways.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"That sign back there said something about medical." Chloe pointed at some marking on the wall behind them, "Shouldn't we radio the others and let them know?"

"What? That we found even more signposts?" McKay asked sarcastically, "We'll let them know when we've found something worth reporting."

"Don't make me separate you two." Sam laughed, "Rodney's right Chloe: only you and Clark can read Kryptonian to any degree of accuracy, so we need to press on until we find something more important."

"Ok." Chloe nodded, feeling more than a little dejected. She was slight surprised at how professional Sam had become: living in Smallville, it was easy to forget that her partner was a highly trained physicist and the former leader of a Special Forces team. She was so deep in though that she didn't notice the ring engraved on the floor.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"This is the control room." Clark stood before a large podium like structure, surrounded by discarded crystals, "These need to be reinserted, and then we should be able to bring the entire complex back online."

"How do you know that?" Sheppard asked, "I thought you said you grew up on Earth?"

"I did." Clark nodded as he lifted an armful of crystals, "The rest is..."

"...classified; I know." Sheppard nodded, "You want me to call McKay and Carter back to help you?"

"No; I should be able to do this myself." Clark placed the first crystal into position, and it slid down into place. More followed, until the podium started to light up, long dormant systems slowly coming to life. The air shimmered as a holographic display came to life. Kryptonian glyphs hung in the air, almost glowing.

"Now that's something worth calling the others in on..." Sheppard reached for his radio.

"Not yet!" Clark held up a hand to stop the older man, "I think I can bring the rest of the systems online."

Picking up the last crystal, he slowly slid it into place.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Chloe jumped backwards as the area of floor she was standing on lit up suddenly, and found herself surrounded by some form of force field. Sam turned round immediately and saw what was happening: she instructively started to run towards her girlfriend, not noticing the identical glowing patch on the floor. The moment her foot touched it, a second force field flashed into being, and the two women were isolated.

"Oh my God!" McKay blinked, "What the hell do we do?"

"This looks like some kind of control device." Teyla pointed her P90 at a bank of crystals lined up along one wall, "Maybe we can shut it down?"

"NO!" Sam yelled, "Just call Clark: he knows how to work Kryptonian machines."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Sam, but I think even I can work this out." McKay started to pull and press the crystals, seemingly at random, "There has to be some sort of sequence to these things..."

A bight light filled both force fields, enveloping the women trapped within. The light solidified into a ball of light that enveloped both Sam and Chloe. They pulsed for a few seconds, before shooting up into the air, passing each other before descending into the other force field. There was another flash of light, and the force fields faded, allowing Sam and Chloe to sink to the floor.

"Ok then." McKay nodded, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry, "Maybe we should call the others..."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Oh no..." Clark looked at the line of Kryptonian glyphs that hung in the air, "We have to get out of here: now!"

"What is it?" Sheppard asked, gripping his P90 tightly, ready for anything, "What does it say?"

"This was a Kryptonian outpost: a military outpost." Clark swallowed, "An outpost loyal to General Zod."

"Who was that?" Ronon asked.

"Zod was a madman who tried to stage a military coup on Krypton." Clark explained, "He was defeated and banished to a pocket-dimension known as the Phantom Zone. The only problem was, some of his followers escaped, and instigated the war that destroyed my people. There's evidence, quite dangerous evidence, that some of them survived. If this was one of their bases of operation, they may have left something behind to watch over it..."

"_Sheppard, this is McKay!_" The scientist's worried voice came over the radio, "_We've got a situation here..._"

"Oh, I'd say that that is an understatement." The all too familiar voice of a Brain InterActive Construct came out of the shadows, "Who dares defile the Temple of Zod?"

**To Be Continued...**

_If you didn't like it, then so be it: it was my story to write and time to waste, not yours._


	5. Life and Death

_Thanks to everyone whose reviews so far: it's nice to know I'm doing something right. Fail to see how the story can be too Sam/Chloe orientated, as a large part of the plot centres on the two of them..._

**Life Goes On  
****Part 5: Life and Death**

Clark reacted by getting between Sheppard, Ronon and the Brain-IAC, protecting the two humans from a blast of heat-vision that would have incinerated them instantly. He pushed the two men as hard as he dared, sending them flying though the open doorway before turning to confront the construct.

"You are Kryptonian." The AI looked at him, "Speak your name and be recognised."

"I am Kal-El, son of Jor-El." Clark stood his ground, "And we were just leaving."

"I am afraid that I can not allow that." The Brain-IAC blurred as it moved next to him almost too fast for even Clark to follow, "My orders are to protect the Temple of Zod for any loyal to the House of El."

"Well, I'm not exactly loyal..." Clark punched the construct as hard as he could; sending it flying across the room and into the opposite wall, "...but then I'm not a big fan of Zod, either."

"Mr Kent, we are **LEAVING!**" Sheppard called out from the doorway as the Brain-IAC pulled itself to its feet, "Let's go!"

"We won't get anywhere with this thing chasing us." Clark shook his head as he looked for a way to disable the homicidal AI, "Get the others out of here: I'll meet you at the ship."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Well, they're alive." McKay looked up from checking Sam and Chloe's pulses, "That good, right?"

"Colonel Sheppard specifically said that we should have radioed in with any discovery." Teyla glared accusingly at her team-mate, "We should have called Clark for advice."

"Well they've obviously found something else, or they wouldn't have cut radio contact with us, now would they?" McKay lifted Sam as gently as he could, "I sagest we get them back to the Puddle Jumper: at least there we have a first-aid kit."

"They do not look hurt." Teyla commented as she effortlessly lifted Chloe, "Just, sleeping."

"Thank you for you your expert medical opinion, Dr Emmagan." McKay hissed, struggling under Sam's weight, "Now let's get the hell out of here, and mind where you step: we don't want to set anything else off."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Are we really going to leave him to face that thing alone?" Ronon asked as he followed Sheppard down the corridor back towards where it branched off.

"I have no intention of leaving anyone behind." The Air Force officer replied; upset that anyone could believe him even capable of such an act, "But you saw what that thing did back there! Trust me on this; Clark is the only one who can deal with it..."

The words were no sooner out of his mouth than a section of wall in front of the two men exploded out into the corridor as Clark was thrown through it with unimaginable force. The young collage student skidded to a halt against the opposite wall. Sheppard was about to check that he was ok when Clark leapt to his feet and disappeared back through the hole in a flash.

"Like I said; the kid can handle it." Sheppard looked tentative through the hole, "I think..."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

McKay was only just able to reach the Puddle Jumper before his legs gave out and he all but dropped Sam onto one of the benches in the rear compartment. Teyla carefully laid Chloe down on the other bench and grabbed the first aid kit off of the wall.

"Should you not try and radio the Colonel again?" She asked as she started to check the two unconscious women for any obvious injuries.

"Right!" McKay grabbed his radio and clicked it on, "Colonel Sheppard, this is McKay: we're back at the Jumper, but something happened to Dr Carter and Miss Sullivan."

"_Can you be a little more specific?_" the team-leaders voice came back, "_Did they stub their toes or something more serious?_"

"Um, I don't know." McKay admitted, "There was a Kryptonian machine of some kind, and some lights..."

"_RODNEY!_" Sheppard hissed, "_What have I told you about pushing buttons?_"

"That in our line or work it's often the only way we discover anything?" The Canadian scientist asked hopefully.

"_Yes, only the exact word I used **Don't**!_" Sheppard was almost shouting, "_Look, we ran into a little problem of our own._"

"How little?" Teyla asked.

"_Oh, about 5' 11" give or take a little._" The radio crackled, "_It threw Clark through a wall like it was crate-paper!_"

"Oh my god!" McKay gasped, "Is he ok?"

"_I think so._" Sheppard sounded unsure, "_He got up again and went after it. I have no idea where they are now._"

"You should get back here." McKay walked towards the front of the Jumper and activated the controls, "We may be able to pick them up on the sensors..."

"_...and if we can do that, we might be able to hit the bad guy with a drone or three._" Sheppard seemed happier, "_I like the way you think. We'll be there as soon as we can._"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Clark was playing hide-and-seek with the Brain-IAC in the lowest levels of the outpost; the floor they had been standing on had given way underneath them, plunging them into darkness. Fortunately, growing up in rural Kansas meant that he hag good night vision, which coupled with his X-ray vision, made it easy for him to find his way around.

The Brain-IAC seemed intent on striking at him from hiding, trying to catch him unawares. But his experience fighting them back on Earth had taught him well, and he was able to dodge most of the attacks.

Walking down a corridor towards a dim light, Clark found himself in a low, circular chamber. It was empty, with the exception of a pedestal in the middle. Imbedded in the top were several crystals and a large, yellow and brown object that gave of the light that illuminated the room.

"And now it ends!" The Brain-IAC hit Clark from behind, knocking him across the room. Using his super-speed to reach the young mans side before he had a chance to get up the AI grabbed Clark by the throat and started to throttle him, pushing him down to his knees. "Swear eternal loyalty to General Zod and you and your companions will live. Kal-El, son of Jor-El: kneel before the power of Zod!"

"I'm not the begging kind!" Clark hissed as he directed his heat vision though the AI and into the pedestal, "And for your information, Zod's dead!"

The pedestal exploded, showering the room with crystal shards that peppered the back of the Brain-IAC. The AI screamed in pain before sinking to the floor.

"You fool, Kal-El." It rasped, "Zod shall have his vengeance: the power core is overloading. Soon, this entire complex, indeed, the entire planet, shall be destroyed. You and your companions will all die!"

"What?" Clark got to his feet and looked round, "How do I stop it?"

"For Zod..." The AI closed its eyes and stopped moving.

**To Be Continued...**

_If you didn't like it, then so be it: it was my story to write and time to waste, not yours._


	6. Narrow Escapes

_Annoyingly, Babble Fish doesn't do English-Czechoslovakian, or I'd have some fun with Zelenka..._

**Life Goes On  
****Part 6: Narrow Escapes**

"Not good..." Clark looked round, trying to see if there was an obvious way to stop the impending disaster, and decided that the best thing to do would be to pull the large yellow crystal out of what remained of the pedestal. It slid out easily, and stopped glowing as soon as it was clear of the rest of the mechanism. The low hum that had started continued to grow, but at a much slower rate.

"_Clark?_" the radio attached to his jacket had somehow survived his fight with the Brain-IAC, and suddenly came to life, "_This is Colonel Sheppard; are you ok?_"

"I'm ok, sir, but we need to get out of here, fast." He looked round until he saw the doorway he had entered through, "I'll explain the rest when I get back."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"What?" Sheppard looked at his radio, "What do you mean, 'when you get back'?" There was a minor sonic boom as Clark appeared outside the Jumper, and then ran round to the rear hatch.

"We have to get out of here, now!" The young Kryptonian hit the controls to close the door behind him, "We've not got long until this entire planet goes up."

"What is it with you people?" Sheppard asked rhetorically, "McKay destroyed three-quarters of a solar system!"

"Hey, Five-sixths at most!" The scientist shot back, "And Carter blew up an entire star! But no; you don't hear any complaints about that, because she was part of SG-1, and they can do no wrong!"

"Oh, you want to get back into that again?" Sheppard turned to face his team mate, "You're little insecurity issues because you never got to be on SG-1?"

"**GUYS!**" Clark effortlessly picked both men up by the shirt collar and held them apart, "We need to get out of here."

"Well he started it." McKay muttered.

"Did not!" Sheppard shot back.

"Did so!"

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Colonel Sheppard, Dr McKay." Teyla stepped between the two men, "This is neither the time nor the place to be having this argument, yet again. I sagest that we concentrate on getting back to Atlantis before we are all blown up, at which time there will be no need for the two of you to argue ever again."

"She's kind of right, you know." McKay admitted, holding out a hand, "Truce?"

"Truce," Sheppard nodded, shaking the offered hand as a violent tremor shook the Jumper, knocking everyone off their feet. "Maybe we **should** get out of here..." he grabbed his seat and pulled himself down into it as the ships systems automatically came online. The inertial dampeners stopped everyone from being thrown about the cabin, but it was still disturbing to see the world outside lurch from side to side.

What passed for a heads-up display flashed on, showing a growing red circle in the middle of the Kyrptonian structure. Grabbing the controls, Sheppard lifted the Jumper off of the ground and swung its blunt nose around as he powered up the drive-pods. The ground below blurred as the craft built up speed, before Sheppard pulled back on the stick until it was pointing almost vertically upwards. Clouds flashed passed and the sky went from blue to black as they left the atmosphere behind.

A loud claxon started going off, and the red light on the HUD started to flash urgently.

"I'd recommend getting to the Stargate!" McKay yelled to be heard sirens, "The entire planet's about to blow!"

"I'm working on it!" Sheppard changed their heading to point at the orbiting ring, "start dialling the moment we're in range!"

McKay's hands darted across the central panel as soon as it lit up, and the Stargate came to life, forming a stable wormhole back to Atlantis. He then quickly sent a G.D.O. signal to make sure that the force-field on the other side would be lowered before they arrived. A blinding white flash illuminated the inside of the Jumper, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. The claxon rose to a scream as the planet behind them was atomised instantly.

"Holly crap!" McKay looked at the HUD, we've got about 30-seconds until the shockwave crushes us like an empty beer can!"

"How long before we reach the Stargate?" Teyla asked.

"A little less than 30-seconds," Sheppard urged the ship forward as fast as he could, "I hope..."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"They're early." Weir stood in the middle of the control room overlooking the Stargate, "Are you sure it's Col. Sheppard's team?"

"Yes." Zelenka nodded, "It is Rodney's G.D.O. code."

"Lower the shield." Weir nodded, before adding under her breath, "What have you gotten yourself into this time John..."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Everyone grab hold of something!" Sheppard gritted his teeth as he lined up the Stargate, "This is going to be close..."

The Puddle Jumper erupted from the wormhole with such speed that even the in-built safety systems were unable to stop it before it hit the steppes leading up to the upper levels. There was an ear-pricing sound of metal crashing into metal, before the stricken craft crashed onto the floor.

"Raising the shield!" Weir slammed her hand down on the control panel just a split second before the wormhole started to glow as bright as the sun for a second before shutting down.

Smoke and gas filled the room as what passed for an automated fire suppressant system kicked in and doused the flames caused by the Jumpers rather less-than-textbook landing. There was low thud, and then the crafts rear hatch crashed down onto the floor.

"**SOMEBODY CALL CARSON!**" Sheppard yelled out as loud as he could, "**WE'VE GOT WOUNDED HERE!**"

"What the hell is gannin on in heor?" Dr Becket arrived at a run, his normally thick Scottish accent almost incomprehensible, "What did Rodney dee this time?"

"Time to find out." Weir took the steps down to the lower level two at a time, "John? What happened?"

"We ran into the Kryptonian equivalent of a watchdog." The pilot explained, "Then Clark decided to blow up the entire planet, so we didn't get anything but more questions."

"Well I did get this." Clark held up the yellow crystal he'd taken from the outpost, "I don't know what it is."

"A Zed-PM!" McKay squeaked, "Where did you find that?"

"I think it was helping to power the outpost." The young Alien explained, "I pulled it out because I thought it might stop the overload..."

"Good, good, good." McKay grabbed the crystal and held it up to the light, "You probably save our lives: if this had gone up, we'd have never made it back to the Stargate."

"Ok, but what does it do?" Clark asked, feeling very much in the dark.

"ZPM's, or Zero Point Module's, were used by the Ancients to power post of their technology, including Atlantis itself." Weir explained, "We've only been able to recover a handful, and most of them were depleted."

"I'll have to run a few tests, but as this was only helping to power the Kryptonian outpost, there is the possibility that it may not have reached entropy yet." McKay smiled like a young child on Christmas morning.

"We have other problems to deal with first." Sheppard pointed to the two stretchers being pulled away from the downed Jumper, "Something happened to Sam and Chloe."

**To Be Continued...**

_If you didn't like it, then so be it: it was my story to write and time to waste, not yours._


	7. Complications and Implications

**Life Goes On  
****Part 7: Complications and Implications**

"There has to be an easier way of doing this." Sheppard complained as he struggled to move parts of the crashed Jumper away from the steps so it could be lifted up into the overhead bay.

"Get everyone else to leave the room." Clark looked round.

"What?" The Air Force officer asked, then saw the look in the other mans eyes and nodded, "Ok guys; take five. Go get a coffee or something."

The confused tech's and soldiers looked at him, but his expression invited no questions, and he was second in command of the entire expedition. They slowly filed out of the room, leaving Clark and Sheppard alone.

"What you got planed farm-boy?" Sheppard asked, crossing his arms.

Clark just smiled as he gripped the front of the disabled Jumper tightly and lifted it up like it was made of paper. Stringing only slightly, he pushed it back into the middle of the room, the screeching of metal against metal like fingers down a chalkboard to the stunned Sheppard. There was a loud thud as he dropped the stricken craft in the middle of the room, just below the iris leading up to the Jumper bay.

"You ever want to go to the Academy; I'll write you a _really_ nice reference." Sheppard shook his head in awe, "Any more tricks up your sleeves?"

"A few, but none I'm going to show you." Clark almost blushed, "I'm really not supposed to show too many people my abilities: I've been keeping them a secret for more than five years, since they first started to develop."

"That I can understand." Sheppard grabbed his radio, "McKay, time to open the iris so we can get this thing squared away."

There was a low grinding noise as the portal to the Jumper bay opened, and a powerful lifting rig was lowered into place. Clark and Sheppard attached the clamps to the disabled ship and stood clear as it was lifted up into the other room.

"_Ok, we've got it._" McKay's voice came over the radio, "_Zelenka and I are going to see if it can be salvaged, or at least what parts we can use to repair others._"

"Good idea, for once." Sheppard smiled, "Clark and I are going to go to the infirmary and see what Carson has to say about Sam and Chloe."

"_Let me know how they're doing, ok?_" McKay answered, "_I guess I feel a little guilty about what happened._"

"Don't; I saw the tapes, and it would have taken me hours to decipher the controls." Clark shook his head, "And that was time we didn't have."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"They're both pregnant." Becket looked up from his clipboard, "Literally a matter of hours, but the scanners we have here are much, much more advanced than anything on Earth."

"Pregnant?" Weir looked at her CMO to make sure she had heard him right, "How did it happen?"

"Not by any natural methods, if that's what you're asking." The MD flipped through a few pages, looking for the right test results, "As far as we can tell from what little Mr Kent translated from the video, the device they were caught in was part of some kind of genetics lab. I'm not sure exactly what they were looking into, but it was certainly very advanced."

"And the foetuses?" Weir asked, almost dreading the answer.

"100-percent human; it was the first thing I checked." Becket reassured the project leader, "The second was a complete DNA scan to see just what we're dealing with. The results were, amazing."

"Carson, we deal with the amazing on an almost daily basis." Weir sighed, thankful that one possible danger seemed to have been adverted, "What did you find?"

"The DNA of the two foetuses is identical; under other circumstances, they'd be identical twins." Becket handed over the clipboard, "That's when I checked their DNA against our records, and found out who the parents are."

"Samantha Carter and Chloe Sullivan?" Weir looked up, "I don't understand; who's the father?"

"There isn't one: the device took their DNA and exchanged it with the others." Becket looked round as the door opened to admit Clark and Sheppard, "It then merged their DNA into a single fertilised egg in each of them. I've heard of some experimental research on this type of thing back on Earth, but it's mainly theoretical."

"So what you are saying is that Dr Carter and Miss Sullivan are both mother _and_ father?" Weir looked dumbfounded.

"Sam and Chloe are pregnant?" Clark looked equally shocked, "Are you sure?"

"Sure as I can be of anything in this job." Becket nodded, "And I can tell you this; due to the lack of any Y-chromosomes, both foetuses will eventually become female."

"Okay." Sheppard blinked, playing catch-up, "That sounds, about as strange as anything else I've heard since meeting General O'Neill for the first time."

"How are they doing physically?" Weir asked, looking at the two sleeping women, "Any other, complications?"

"None at all," Becket shook his head as he walked over to his two patients, "in fact, they seem to be just sleeping. I could wake them up, but given their condition, I think it's best if we let them get as much rest as they can. God only knows how I'm going to explain this to them."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Rodney," Weir passed the Canadian physicist as she made her way to her office, "Please tell me you have some good news."

"I'm afraid it's the proverbial 'good news, bad news' situation." McKay fell into step behind her, "Which do you want first?"

"I'll take the bad news." Weir sat behind her desk, "That way I've at least got something to look forward to."

"The Puddle Jumper's a write-off: Zelenka and I have gone over it, and there's no way we can make it airworthy again." McKay sat in one of the other chairs, "He's taking it apart of spares as we speak."

"Ok, that's the bad news; what's the good news?"

"The Zed-PM Clark recovered is approximately 50-percent depleted, which means it still has more energy in it than anything we've seen before."

"That's excellent news! What does that mean in real terms?"

"Well, we could use it in conjunction with the one we already have to help power the city. Or, we could use it to replace the one we already have, and put the old one back in the _Daedalus_."

"That would certainly cut the travel rime between here and Earth, at least for a while."

"That was my thinking, and if my calculations are correct, as long as they don't draw the maximum amount of power from it all the time, it should last long enough for several dozen trips."

"That is the best news I've had for some time."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sam woke slowly, her mouth dry. It took her a moment to remember what had happened, then she sat bolt upright, almost pulling the drip from her arm.

"Sam!" Clark was at her side in an instant, "It's ok; you're in the infirmary in Atlantis."

"What happened?" Sam asked, looking round, "Where's Chloe?"

"She's fine; she still sleeping." The young Kryptonian did his best to reassure the physicist, "Dr Becket will be back soon; he'll be able to explain everything."

"Explain what?" Sam asked as she pulled the drip from her arm and swung her legs over the side of the bed, "What happened?"

"It's a little complicated: we ran into a Brain-IAC, but I was able to destroy it." Clark blushed slightly, "I also blew up the outpost and the planet it was on at the same time..."

"Join the club." Sam grabbed a nearby robe and put it on before walking over to Chloe's bed, "What about Chloe and I? The last thing I remember is a bright light."

"That's the really complicated part." Clark looked round, hoping that Becket had returned, "Maybe you should wait for..."

"I want to know what happened, and I want to know now." Sam stood next to Chloe's bed, holding her sleeping girlfriends hand.

"Okay." Clark took a deep breath, "I don't understand the how just yet, but you're carrying Chloe's baby, and she's carrying yours."

**To Be Continued...**

_If you didn't like it, then so be it: it was my story to write and time to waste, not yours._

_**Bobboky**: hope that answers your question ;)_


	8. The long haul

_Becket's accent may seem a little thick at times, but I'm using an online program to translate clear English into 'Geordie', the closet I can find to a Scottish accent.  
__Anyone who wants a link should say so in a review._

**Life Goes On  
****Part 8: The long haul**

Chloe woke slowly, her mind still fogged by sleep as she became aware of the fact that she was alone in a strange bed. She opened here eyes a fraction, the subdued lighting making it hard to see at first, but she caught a glimpse of golden hair sprawled across her left arm. She went to run a finger through the hair, to see if Sam was awake, when she saw the IV line attached just above her wrist.

"Ah see you're awake." Becket's soft voice came from the other side of the room, and the Scottish doctor made his way over with a warm smile on his face, "I'd let hor sleep if Ah were you: she's been through a lot, yee both hev."

"What happened?" Chloe asked, still a little drowsy, "The last thing I remember is being caught in some kind of force-field and a bright light..."

"We're still not sure exactly what happened; young Mr Kent is still gannin ower the tapes te see if he can decipher owt" Becket stood at the young reporter's bedside, holding his clipboard behind his back with both hands, "But wor tests hev proven tha there are ne apparent long term effects tha yee need te be worried aboot, as such..."

"What aren't you telling me?" Chloe asked, "I'm a journalism student, remember: I know when someone's lying to me."

"Our tests have shown that you're pregnant..." Becket started to explain, bringing his clipboard round.

"Pregnant?" Chloe sat up, waking Sam, "How? I've only ever been with a guy once, and that was years ago..."

"Chloe?" Sam looked up, a smile lighting up her face, "Are you ok?"

"Ok?" Chloe blinked, having a hard time taking all the information in, "I've just been told that I might be carrying the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and you ask me if I'm ok?"

"This is far frem an immaculate conception." Becket did his best to sound reassuring, "It seems tha the device yee were both caught it wez port of some keind of Kryptonian genetics lab, far more advanced than owt on Earth..."

"So I'm pregnant with a Kryptonian child?" Chloe asked, eyes darting around in desperation, hoping that it was all some kind of joke.

"No; you're pregnant with my child." Sam took her partners hand and squeezed it gently, "And I seem to be carrying yours."

"Dr Carter's right: the device took yer DNA an implanted it in hor , while deein the same wi hor DNA an yee." Becket handed over his clipboard, hoping that the young reporter would be able to understand the test results, "If it wasn't fre the fact tha yee were both in the fertile period of yer cycle, it wouldn't hev had any effect."

"So I'm pregnant, and Sam's the, what," Chloe looked up from the paperwork, "father? Co-mother?"

"There isn't any real term fre this: there haven't been any recorded occurrences, at least none tha I've heard of." Becket shrugged, "The tests show ne abnormal DNA, an so there is an extremely high chance tha both foetuses will grow up te be perfectly healthy little lasses."

"Girls?" Chloe and Sam asked at the same time.

"Wi ne Y-chromosomes in the equation, there is ne way tha they can be owt but female." Becket explained, "Ah knaa this is a lot fre yee both te tyek in, so I'll gis yee some time alain. If yee hev any questions, I'll be in me office. This is gunna be a git, interesting, case te write up: the forst non-Athosian pregnancy I've dealt wi since arrive in Atlantis..."

"Well?" Sam asked as soon as the MD was out of earshot, "What do you think?"

"Think?" Chloe asked with a slight smile, "About the fact that I'm pregnant with my lesbian life-partner's child? I'm not sure what to think."

"Well, I gave it a lot of thought last night." Sam took a deep breath, "I'm keeping mine. I always wanted children, but my career always got in the way, and while I couldn't love Cassie any more if she was my own daughter..."

"You still want one of your own." Chloe nodded, "I understand, I do; I always thought I'd have kids some day, but just not so young. I always thought that my career would come first."

"So..." Sam nodded, "What about you?"

"I...I'm going to keep mine too." Chloe nodded, her face resolved, "While I'm not against abortion per-say, this is probably going to be my only chance to have a child with the person I want to spend the rest of my life with."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"As strange as this sound, I'm going to be sorry to see you go." Weir stood at the bottom of the now repaired steps, "Are you sure I can't convince you to stay? Or could I at least interest you in a summer internship?"

"Sorry, but I have collage and other commitments." Clark shook his head, "But if you ever find another, you know, just give me a call and I'll come and help you deal with it."

"Believe me, we will." Weir offered a hand, "Good luck, Mr Kent."

"Thank you." The young Kryptonian shook the offered hand, "Same to you."

"Chevron eight encoded!" McKay called from the control room as the wormhole burst into the room, "G.D.O. sent and confirmed."

"Bye!" Clark waved to everyone, and then ran through the gate as fast as he could; minimizing the time they had to keep he wormhole open.

"Well, that's him sorted." Weir turned to face the other visitors, "What about you two?"

"Dr Becket couldn't guaranty one way or the other how a wormhole might affect us." Sam smiled, holding Chloe's hand, "So it looks like we have to wait for the _Daedalus_ to leave for Earth in two days time."

"Three weeks on a spaceship that I can't tell anyone about when I get back home." Chloe sighed, "What fun..."

"Well, I had a word with Colonel Caldwell," Sam had a dangerous looking smile on her face, "and I guess I'm just kind of old fashioned when it comes to some thing."

"What thing?" Chloe asked, "Sam, you know I don't like it when you plot behind my back..."

"Trust me; I think I know what I'm doing." Sam took hold of both of her partner's hands and got down on one knee, "Chloe Sullivan, will you marry me?"

Chloe's mouth opened and closed a few times without any sound coming out as she looked down with her eyes open wide in shock.

"Lost for words?" Sam grinned, "That has to be a first."

McKay walked over and stood behind Weir, a look of amusement in his eyes, "Well, it's not very often you see something truly unexpected in this job."

"Yes..." Chloe nodded, tears starting to stream down her face, "Yes...I will marry you."

**To Be Continued...**

_If you didn't like it, then so be it: it was my story to write and time to waste, not yours._

_Heather: Lex is only a side character in this story. He probably won't even make another appearance, beyond maybe a passing mention. Good or evil? Maybe not as bad as he was in season 5, but still Evil Bastard #1 as far as the future holds..._


	9. Promises Made

_If you're against the concept of same-sex marriages, look away now..._

**Life Goes On  
****Part 9: Promises made**

"I'm not entirely sure if this is considered legal outside of Massachusetts or Canada," Colonel Caldwell looked a little hesitant as he stood at one end of the _Daedalus'_ mess-hall, "but I am captain of this ship, so technically the age-old rules apply." He smiled coyly, "And if the Air Force does kick up a fuss, I'll just blame General O'Neill..."

"Amen." Chloe nodded; an amused expression on her face.

"Then let us begin." Caldwell took a deep breath, "We are gathered here in the presence of witnesses for the purpose of uniting in matrimony Samantha Carter and Chloe Sullivan. The contract of marriage is most solemn and is not to be entered into lightly, but thoughtfully and seriously with a deep realization of its obligations and responsibilities. Please remember that love, loyalty and understanding are the foundations of a happy and enduring home. No other human ties are more tender and no other vows more important than those you are about to pledge." He turned to face Sam, "Do you Samantha take Chloe to be your spouse for life? Do you promise to love and comfort each other, honour and keep each other in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for better or for worse and be faithful to each other as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." Sam nodded happily, squeezing her partner's hand.

"Do you Chloe take Samantha to be your spouse for life? Do you promise to love and comfort each other, honour and keep each other in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for better or for worse and be faithful to each other as long as you both shall live?" Caldwell repeated the question.

"I do." Chloe nodded, doing her best to hold back the tears.

"May we have the rings please?" Caldwell waited as a crewmember stepped forward with the matching pair of Athosian commitment rings that Teyla had aquired, "Sam, if you could take one of the rings and place it on Chloe's finger, then repeat after me: I give you this ring in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love. With this ring, I thee wed."

"I give you this ring in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love." Sam slipped the gold and silver band over Chloe's ring finger, "With this ring, I thee wed."

"Chloe, if you could take the other ring and place it on Sam's finger." Caldwell nodded, "And repeat after me: I give you this ring in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love. With this ring, I thee wed."

"I give you this ring in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love." Chloe took the other ring and slipped it over Sam's finger, "With this ring, I thee wed."

"Now that you have joined yourselves in matrimony, may you strive all your lives to meet this commitment with the same love and devotion that you now possess." Caldwell smiled, opening his arm, "By virtue of the authority vested in me by the United States Air Force as Captain of this vessel, I now pronounce you, spouses for life." He cocked his head to the side, slightly uncertain, "You may kiss the bride, I guess."

The assembled crew and Atlantis personnel cheered as Sam and Chloe fell into each others arms, kissing deeply.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The sound of water lapping against the nearby dockside was soothing: Sam wasn't sure just how McKay had found this part of the city, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, having checked for any cameras or other recording devices. She lay back in the makeshift bed; Chloe curled up at her side, and smiled.

The party had started as soon as the _Daedalus_ had landed back on Atlantis, and had gone on late into the night. Sam half suspected that many of the expedition members needed to blow of a little steam, and used the wedding as an excuse to let their hair down. Whatever the reason, there had been plenty to eat and drink (only fruit juice for the happy couple; Dr Becket's orders), and an importuned band had managed to play a few songs without permanently damaging anyone's hearing. Sam wasn't sure just how strong the Athosian ale was, but she could clearly remember an inebriated Dr Weir fighting an equaly intoxicated McKay for the bouquet that they had thrown over their shoulders. Weir had finally caught it, and promptly kissed a rather surprised looking Col. Sheppard.

Sam was sure that that would be the mainstay of Atlantis gossip for some time to come.

"So," Chloe held one hand up, examining her wedding right by the pale moonlight, "Carter-Sullivan, or Sullivan-Carter?"

"I'd have thought that you'd want to keep your name," Sam propped herself up on the elbow, the other arm sliding across her wife's stomach, "at least on a professional level."

"I'm talking more about for the girls." Chloe giggled, "Not that I wouldn't be willing to take your name..."

"I fell in love with, and married, Chloe Sullivan." Sam kissed the younger woman on the tip of her nose, "But I think Carter-Sullivan rolls of the tough a little easier than Sullivan-Carter and that's not just me being egocentrically."

"Chloe and Samantha Carter-Sullivan?" Chloe tilted her head to the side, "I think I could get use to that."

"It's going to be fun seeing everyone else's reaction back home." Sam smiled at the mental image, "Although I'm sure that someone, probably Elizabeth, is going to tell Jack before we get back to Earth. I just home someone has a camera on-hand..."

"Ooh! Can I be the one to tell Lex?" Chloe laughed, "I want to see first-hand how Mr Metropolitan reacts to the news."

"You are an evil, evil woman." Sam backed away in mock horror, "What _have_ I married?"

"If you think people are going to be surprised by the fact that we're married," Chloe smiled evilly, "imagine how they're going to react to the news that we're carrying each others child?"

"That's going to be a whole other can of worms." Sam admitted, "I just home your father appreciates that I've made an honest woman of you."

"Are you saying that I wasn't honest before hand?" Chloe asked.

"You're a journalism-major." Sam countered, deadpan, "What was the question again?"

"What am I going to do with you?" Chloe asked as she grabbed Sam and rolled her over onto her back, pulling the sheet up over their heads, "Well, apart from this..."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Good luck and Godspeed." Weir stood holding a cup of strong black coffee at the airlock leading to the _Daedalus_, "Enjoy your honeymoon."

"Well, three weeks cooped up on a starship does have its advantages." Chloe smiled, "Like we can decide where we're going to live: our apartment in Smallville is barely big enough when Cassie visits..."

"We have many things to discuss." Sam admitted, "Look us up, next time you're back on Earth. You and Col. Sheppard..."

"I'll make sure to give you a call." Weir cut the astrophysicist off, and then shook both women's hands, "It's been, well, unusual."

"Welcome to my world." Chloe smiled.

"Take my wife, please." Sam laughed, wrapping and arm around the younger blond and started to lead her through the airlock and into the ship, "I'm glad I finally got to see Atlantis first-hand."

"So, tell me," Chloe asked as the hatch started to close behind them, "can I write about the Air Force's latest spaceship?"

**To Be Continued...**

_If you didn't like it, then so be it: it was my story to write and time to waste, not yours._


	10. Home Sweet Home

_Thanks to everyone whose reviews so far: it's nice to know I'm doing something right._

_Happy holidays  
__Jeff_

**Life Goes On  
****Part 10: Home Sweet Home**

"Earth..." Chloe looked out of the window at the slowly rotating blue/green sphere, "Never though I'd see it from up here."

"It always takes my breath away." Sam admitted as the _Daedalus_ settled into orbit, "It's good to be home." She wrapped her arms around her wife, "Home is the sailor, home from the sea..."

"...and the hunter home from the hill?" Chloe smiled, "Talking of which, we need to start looking for a new house: our apartment isn't going to be big enough."

"We are in position to transport you down to Area 51." Hermiod announced over the intercom.

"Do you think they know?" Chloe asked, looking at her wedding ring.

"It might have been included in Dr Weir's last mission report." Sam shrugged, "Or Colonel Caldwell may have told them, to cover his own ass."

"They can't do anything to us, can they?" Chloe asked, a little hesitant about facing the reception comity ground-side, "I mean, we're pregnant..."

"Between General O'Neill and Senator Kent, I think we should be safe." Sam took her wife hand and walked over to where their bags stood in the middle of the room, "Dr Carter-Sullivan to Hermiod: we're ready."

There was a flash as the transporter beam enveloped them, and they were suddenly standing in a bitch black space.

"Maybe Hermiod got the coordinates wrong?" Chloe suggested.

Both women jumped when there was a series of loud bangs, and the lights switched on: the room was full of people in party hats, with a large banner hanging from the ceiling proclaiming 'congratulations, Sam & Chloe!'

"Surprised?" Jack smiled as he walked over, a glass of fruit juice in each hand, "What? You thought that you could just sneak back home after an all-expenses paid honeymoon, courtesy of the Air Force?"

"Too much to hope?" Chloe asked, accepting the offered drink, "Who squealed?"

"Hermiod sent a status report to Freyr by subspace." Daniel appeared at his friend's side, "Freyr told Thor, who told Jack by..."

"No need to go into details, Dannyboy." Jack cut the archaeologist off, "Let's just say that the little-guy set a new record for worst possible time and place to beam me up and leave it at that."

"A story for another time." Sam smiled, "How's the brass taking this?"

"What? The fact that an Air Force officer conducted a possibly legal, possibly illegal marriage of two women on our ultra top-secret spaceship?" Jack smirked, "Some are kicking up a fuss, but you've got more friends on the hill than you think: some of the more liberal members of the Senate and Congress are backing the two of you on general principal. You'll probably have to register your marriage in Massachusetts, but it looks like you'll get away with it."

"And they couldn't exactly rake us over the colas without risking the full story getting out." Chloe smiled, "You got to love the freedom of the press."

"It has it's uses." Jack admitted, "So, what's the big plan?"

"Go home and decompress a little." Sam sighed, "We've got a lot to take in, and then we've got to start looking for a new place to live, probably in Metropolis."

"Well that can wait." Daniel smiled, reappearing with a glass of Champaign for himself and Jack, "To the happy couple."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Clark looked out through his telescope: using the astronomical instrument and his own enhanced eyesight, he could just make out the Pegasus galaxy, but it was still little more than a hazy spot. He shook his head; the distance between Earth and the distant dwarf galaxy meant that he was seeing light that had left there more than a million years ago.

"Star Light Star bright, the first star I see tonight," a soft and familiar voice came from behind him, alerting him for the first time that he was not alone, "I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight."

"Chloe?" He span round and embraced his fried, effortlessly lifting her off her feet, "It's good to see you again!"

"Good to be seen." The young reporter returned the embrace, "That whole 'slow boat to China' thing got a little old after the first two weeks."

"I'm glad you're back; life's been a little lonely without you and Sam around to liven things up." Clark put her down, "Although Cassie stopped by for a game of chess the other day; kicked my ass."

"Ah, my wife has taught her well." Chloe smiled, then waited for the words to sink in. she grinned like a Cheshire Cat when her friends jaw dropped wide open, and she held up her hand so he could see the ring, "Chloe Carter-Sullivan, at your service."

"Wow!" Clark blinked, "I didn't think that was legal?"

"Not in the great state of Kansas, but in Massachusetts and Canada, we're good to go." Chloe sat on the old sofa, "I'm growing up fast; marriage, kids, the whole shebang!"

"I don't think I've ever seen you happier." Her freeing sat down next to her, "You and Sam have been good for each other."

"Yeah, well remember that when we're both hormonal and bloated." She ruffled his hair, "Expecting you to use your superpowers to run around, doing all the things we can't."

"Hey, I get to be 'Cool Uncle Clark'; why should I be worried." The young Kryptonian laughed, and then looked series, "I'm thinking about taking Dr Weir up on her offer, about going back to Atlantis for a summer internship."

"You think there are other Kryptonian outposts out there?" Chloe asked, "Thor didn't seem to think so."

"Thor didn't expect to find me on Earth." Clark countered, "It's a big, big universe out there; and my people visited at least 28-Galaxies. That's almost the entire Local Group." He shook his head, "I have to believe that somewhere, out there, there are other Kryptonian colonies."

"It's a grand dream." Chloe nodded, "And I for one hope it comes true."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You'd better have good reason for coming here." Lex stormed into his office, "Samantha Carter was once a host; she could detect you..."

"**_Do you know the story of Prometheus?_**" Ba'al cut him off, poring himself a glass of whisky and looking out the window at the Kansas countryside.

"Only from the ancient Greek legend." The young businessman nodded, sensing that he was about to learn something important, so forced himself to calm down, "But I would be interested in hearing the Goa'uld side of the story."

"**_Prometheus was a Tok'ra who stole weapons from the System Lords and gave them to the humans in the area you now know of as Greece._**" His guest explained, "**_His actions forced Cronus to abandon Earth._**"

"So you want to steal Kryptonian technology?" Lex asked.

"**_Whoever controls technology controls the universe._**" The former System Lord smiled, "**_And with Kryptonian technology, not even the Asgard can stand in my way._**"

"Me, I just want what Prometheus wanted," Lex smiled, pouring his own drink, "to bring fire to the people... and I want my cut."

"**_When I have regained my rightful place as master of this galaxy, Earth and all its peoples will be yours to do with as you please_**." Ba'al raised his glass, "**_To stealing fire from the gods._**"

"To Prometheus." Lex returned the gesture: "And to getting what we want."

**The End**

_Hope that answers all the questions about Lex..._

_If you didn't like it, then so be it: it was my story to write and time to waste, not yours._


End file.
